Stock Markets February 11, 2026

Musk says xAI reorganization led to staff reductions as company expands

Layoffs confirmed amid leadership departures and a planned SpaceX acquisition intended to fund data centers in orbit

By Leila Farooq
Musk says xAI reorganization led to staff reductions as company expands

Elon Musk confirmed that xAI underwent a recent reorganization that resulted in some employees being let go. The personnel changes follow an announcement that SpaceX will acquire xAI as part of a plan to form a $1.25 trillion company and take it public later this year to help finance ambitions to place data centers in space. Two xAI co-founders have resigned, contributing to an exodus that has left half of the firm's original 12 co-founders no longer at the company.

Key Points

  • xAI underwent a reorganization announced by Elon Musk that led to layoffs aimed at improving execution speed; the move was described as having "required parting ways with some people".
  • SpaceX will acquire xAI to form a $1.25 trillion company with plans to go public later this year, with proceeds intended to support ambitions to deploy data centers in space - linking the corporate deal to future financing needs.
  • Two co-founders, Tony Wu and Jimmy Ba, resigned, contributing to an exodus that has left half of xAI's original 12 co-founders no longer at the firm; these shifts affect the AI and aerospace-related technology sectors.

Elon Musk said on Wednesday that xAI has conducted a reorganization that led to the departure of some employees as the artificial intelligence firm scales its operations.

In a post on X, Musk wrote: "xAI was reorganized a few days ago to improve speed of execution," adding that the change "unfortunately required parting ways with some people." The company did not provide additional headcount figures in Musk's post.

Those personnel moves come shortly after a separate announcement that SpaceX will acquire xAI, a transaction presented as a step toward creating a combined entity valued at $1.25 trillion. The plan includes taking the enlarged company public later this year, with proceeds intended to support the billionaire's stated goal of placing data centers in space.

On Tuesday, two co-founders of xAI, Tony Wu and Jimmy Ba, said in social media posts that they had resigned from the firm they helped start with Musk less than three years ago. Their exits add to a broader turnover at the company and contribute to what the company described as an exodus that has left it with half of its 12 co-founders no longer working there.

The public statements tie three developments together: a corporate reorganization announced by Musk, the planned acquisition by SpaceX with an associated public listing, and the departure of multiple founding executives. Beyond Musk's statement and the resignations by Wu and Ba, the company has not released further operational details in the posts referenced here.


Context and available facts

  • Elon Musk confirmed a reorganization at xAI that resulted in staff reductions.
  • SpaceX has said it will buy xAI as part of a plan to create a $1.25 trillion company and to take that company public later this year to help finance plans for data centers in space.
  • Co-founders Tony Wu and Jimmy Ba announced their resignations, contributing to an exodus that has reduced the number of active co-founders from 12 to half that number.

The information above is drawn from the public statements and social media posts described, and the company has not provided additional details in those posts about timing, specific headcount numbers beyond "some people," or the operational steps that will follow the reorganization.

Risks

  • Leadership attrition - the resignations of co-founders Tony Wu and Jimmy Ba, combined with other departures, create uncertainty about continuity in senior technical and strategic leadership. This uncertainty primarily impacts the AI sector and related technology development.
  • Operational disruption from reorganization - the company acknowledged layoffs described only as "some people," leaving questions about near-term operational capacity and execution speed. This affects the AI business operations and any integration work tied to the planned SpaceX acquisition.
  • Financing and timeline uncertainty - the SpaceX acquisition and planned public listing are presented as mechanisms to finance data centers in space, but public statements do not provide details on timing or guarantees, creating uncertainty for stakeholders in both the space infrastructure and AI markets.

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